Friday, December 10, 2010

Cooking Book 5 (Project Notebook)

HA! I bet you thought I'd abandoned this project like so many before. Nope. It's just that this one is a little labor intensive, with having to match up the photos to the recipes in the book and write about it. Well, it's labor intensive for me.

Here's another 5 -

Mexican Bean Dip, American Heart Association

I made this up as a filling for quesadillas. It was easy and delicious.

Mexican Bean Dip

American Heart Association

16 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley and cilantro

2 tb salsa

2 tb lime juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp chile powder

1/2 tsp cumin

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth.

Creamed Spinach, unknown source

I'm glad I don't know the source for this as it wasn't very good. I won't make this again.

White Bean and Pasta Soup, American Heart Association

I made some changes to this to use up what I had on hand. Absolutely delicious. We've made variations on this a few times in the past couple of months.

Stir together the beans, broth, tomato and herbs in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the pasta and cook, covered, until the pasta is tender. If you are adding cooked greens or meat, add a couple of minutes before the pasta is done to heat them through. If adding raw kale, slice thinly and add at the same time as the noodles.

Marinated Grilled Beef, Young Thailand Cookbook

This was good, nothing spectacular. Slices of beef marinated briefly in soy, garlic, pepper and sugar, then grilled.

Shrimps with Chile and Basil, Young Thailand Cookbook

This is such an excellent recipe. I am not a huge shrimp fan (unless, sadly they are battered or breaded) but I enjoyed this very much.

Here's my version with a few changes

3 tb oil

1 tb minced garlic

1 pinch (or more) of dried chile flakes

16 good sized shrimps, peeled and deveined

1 red bell pepper, cut into squares

3 tb soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

4 tb water

1 tsp hoisin sauce

10 fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tb water

Heat the oil over high heat. Add the garlic and the chile flakes, shrimp and bell pepper. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce through hoisin sauce. Cook 1 minute more. Shred the basil leaves and stir them in. Mix the cornstarch and water and stir in. Cook until the sauce has thickened.